Keeping iced cupcakes fresh for 4-5 days?

Hi all,

I am very new to CC and this is also my first post
I was wondering if anyone out there could possibly help me?

I have been asked to take some samples of my cupcakes into a local coffee shop with a view to becoming a supplier but the owner would prefer something with a shelf life of 4 days minimum. He has a fridge & chilled counter and is open 7 days a week. I'm just wondering whether I would need to add anything to my normal cakes (flavoured sponges and buttercream icing - occasional fillings) to keep them fresher or will the chilled counter do that for me (or worse - dry them out??) I usually bake fresh to order so don't have to worry about them lasting longer than a couple of days (my customers have been known to polish off 6 in an afternoon lol). I would be VERY grateful for any help with this.

It would be a fantastic opportunity for me and will hopefully bring me more private customers too once they have tried one or two samples

Thanks in advance for any advice

Nicola

Thank you all for your responses

Mimifix - I understand exactly what you mean - I don't even think I would like to try one that's been in a fridge for 4 days Cakes never last very long in my house (with 3 kids and a hubby with a sweet tooth, I always have to make extras if I have an order) but I never keep them in the fridge - just a sealed tub on the counter. From what I can gather, the chiller they will be in only has desserts (larger cakes/muffins) Extra deliveries would not be a problem, they are less than 3 miles away from me and my hubby actually works next door so he could always do a few if needed It's just that the owner was the one to say that he would like it if they would last 4-5 days (assuming so that he won't have to throw any away on a slower week)

matthewkyrankelly - I was considering this but just with the buttercream - spreading it over to "seal" the top, and then doing the swirls/toppings etc just to make doubly sure there are no gaps that could lead to drying out.

BakingIrene - What a fantastic idea, I should have thought of a syrup before! I could do the syrup, and then the "sealed buttercream" mentioned above and that should work for an extra day maybe Am not sure about investing in the tupperware yet (the only cupcake couriers I can find are around £30 each, and I would need 2 really to make it viable) but we'll see what happens once he's sampled the ones I take in - I can't imagine orders will be huge to start with so don't really want to spend loads of money until I know if it's likely to be regular (at the moment I use the cardboard boxes,but obviously this will work out expensive in the long run)

Thank you all for your help, it's much appreciated and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can somehow work this out so that it comes through as regular orders can only be a good thing

Wish me luck!

Nicola

I'd need a way to keep them sturdy in the car really though - lots of speedbumps around here lol That's why I was thinking the cupcake couriers